St Mathew
by taylaymartinay
Summary: AU from the trial in the order of the phoenix. The ministry has decided to get rid of Harry all together. Dumbledore can no longer be trusted. He is taken straight from the trial to a special place until he graduates school. His new life is full of love, family, and friends.
1. Chapter 1

Harry and Professor Dumbledore stood firm in front of the council of dark cruel looking shadows. The only face that wasn't in shadows was Fudge. His usual happy face was in an expression of anger and determination and his dark eyes gleamed with wickedness.

"Albus Dumbledore, are you aware that in Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts his life was at risk to he-who-must-not-be-named?"

"Minister, I am aware of-"

"And in his second year," Fudge interrupted loudly "His life and another student's life was at risk to him as well."

"Minister-"Dumbledore started but was again interrupted

"Each year that Harry Potter attended Hogwarts he has been attacked or injured or hurt in some way-"

"Sir, none of that was Professor Dumbledore's fault!" Harry spoke up angrily. He wanted to defend Dumbledore. No one had the right to accuse him of letting Harry or anyone get hurt.

"Whether anything that happened was Professor Dumbledore's fault or not, four times you, Harry Potter have found yourself in danger. There was no supervision to keep you from putting yourself in danger or to get you out of it."

Harry found himself speechless. As much as he wanted to deny it he knew Fudge was right. Every time he had gotten himself into trouble he and his friends had to find their own way out, except possibly once.

"That's not true." Harry said looking Fudge right in the eyes.

"Please, share with us." Fudge said gesturing his fat hand to Harry.

"Back in my third year when we went after Sirius Black Professors Lupin and Snape went after us to save us."

"Yes, they rescued you in your third year but you still continued to get into trouble the next year. Your name was placed in the goblet and they made no exceptions for you, they didn't make it any easier for you, they didn't do anything. The teachers of Hogwarts allowed you to willingly walk into danger."

"The Goblet of Fire is a binding contract. Once Harry's name was pulled from the cup he was under contract to do what we had planned for other trained wizards who were scheduled to graduate that year. You were there Minister, you watched as Harry walked into danger." Dumbledore said walking a little closer to the stand.

"I only remember watching as a school let a fourteen year old boy get kidnapped twice and almost killed few other times. After each task I expected you to take control, Dumbledore. The third task was already my last straw then he gets attacked by dementors."

Harry hung his head dejectedly. He knew he was beat.

"Minister, what does this have to do in connection with the dementor attack?" Dumbledore asked looking at the minister over his half moon glasses.

Fudge closed the file he had in front of him and folded his hands together.

"We the council," He said in a loud voice "Have come to a vote. We have decided that you, Professor Dumbledore, can no longer be responsible for the well being of Harry Potter. He would be much better off in a home that is better suited to keep him safe."

It was like white noise in Harry's ears. They couldn't take him from the place he was happy, the only home he had.

"NO!" he found himself yelling.

"Minister, please rethink this decision." Dumbledore begged him.

"I'm sorry, the vote has been cast and the decision has been made." He looked away as two wizards in blue uniforms entered the room, the door opened with a loud bang, they crossed the room in what seemed to be a second to Harry, Each took one of Harry's arms in a tight grip.

Harry tried to pull his arms away but it didn't seem to faze the uniformed wizards. They kept straight faces as they pulled him from the room." I'll do whatever I can to get you out." Professor Dumbledore said before the door closed in Harry's face.

Outside the door Mr. Weasley was still waiting for the trial to end.

"What is going on?" He asked in confusion trying to step in front of the wizards. They only pushed him out of the way. The wizard on the right muttered

"Ministers orders." He didn't even turn his head to look at Mr. Weasley.

Harry was taken back through the crowd to the telephone booth. They closed the door and pressed some buttons and the booth floated up where it had been when Harry and Mr. Weasley had first found it. When the doors opened again there was a small black car parked just outside the booth.

They tried to push Harry to the car but he dug his heels in the sidewalk.

"What's wrong? Get in the car!" One of the wizards said with frustration.

"I don't have my things, my trunk and my clothes and books."

"We'll make sure you get your things. Don't you worry." The other wizard sounded much kinder. Harry knew he had no choice, he had to do what they wanted him to do.

He got into the car to find the inside was like a limo. They pushed Harry away from the doors to the seat across from them. As soon as the doors closed the car began to drive.

"Where am I going?" Harry asked holding the seat with both hands.

"We're taking you to some school." The rough sounding wizard answered

"What school?" Harry asked looking between the two

"We weren't told. We're just supposed to escort you wherever it is they're taking you." The other one said

They fell into silence. Both wizards looked out the windows away from Harry and away from each other. Harry wondered how the weasleys and Hermione would react, probably just like Mr. Weasley they would be shocked and angry, Sirius would be upset too and Dumbledore must have been livid, now that he thought about it Harry wasn't even sure when he would be back. Dumbledore had said he would do everything he could to get him back so Harry might not even be there for the whole summer. Dumbledore would fix it, he could fix anything.

The car pulled to a stop.

"Dumbledore will fix all of this." Harry said to the two wizards as they opened their doors. They both paused and snickered at each other.

"Sure." The rough one said stepping from the car


	2. Chapter 2

They were at a dingy little train station. The walls were covered in graffiti and the garbage cans were overflowing. An old man in an overcoat and stained pants was sleeping on the floor in the corner and a woman in a short skirt and high heels was sitting on a bench.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked wishing they would loosen their grip on his arms.

"We're waiting for a train." The gruff wizard said. He didn't seem to want to say more. Behind them a tall woman in a suit walked in at a quick pace. Behind her was a girl about Harry's age with long dark braids. She walked at a slower pace than the woman and she kept her head down. She was dressed in dark clothes with a green backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Should be here any second." The kinder sounding wizard said checking his watch.

Another boy around the same age slowly walked in with an older woman that could have been his grandmother. He was wearing a blue sweater and pulling a large trunk behind him. The old woman looked tired. She kept whispering things to him that he seemed to ignore.

There was a loud whistle that caught Harry's attention and he turned back to find a grey train that was smaller than the Hogwarts express. On the side was the number seventeen. The woman with the skirt and the old man didn't show any sign that they saw the train at all.

"Number seventeen. That's the one we're looking for." One of the wizards said. They pulled him forward. A man stepped from the train, he was wearing a uniform. One of the wizards handed him a few coins and the man gave them a ticket. The rough wizard took it from the man and pushed it in Harry's hand. The man from the train stepped aside and the wizards let go of Harry.

Harry looked at both wizards in surprise.

"You don't expect us to actually go with you, do you?" one of them asked

Harry shook his head and stepped on to the train. It was unlike the Hogwarts Express in every way. There were no compartments, only rows and rows of old seats with cuts and drawings on them. He picked the closest one to the window from the door and watched to see if the wizards would leave. They didn't, the two men stood on each side of the door waiting for the train to leave.

The girl with the dark braids plopped down across the isle from Harry. She crossed her arms and continued to look down. The boy who had come in with the old woman sat down farther ahead of them.

"Alright," The train man in the uniform stood between the isles and spoke loudly "The train is about to leave in a minute. This is a long trip. We will be handing food out. We do not want any running or screaming or rough-housing." He sounded robotic and uncaring. After he finished talking he walked past them to the front of the train.

The train began to move forward into the dark tunnel. Orange lights made the train look strange. The girl with the dark braids still kept her head down. When the train came out of the tunnel Harry found they were passing fields and meadows, he knew this couldn't be right, they had been in an underground station. Harry turned to the girl next to him to ask her if she knew but he found little drops of water falling from her cheeks. She sniffed a little and wiped the tears away. Instead of asking what he had wanted he found himself asking

"Are you alright?"

The girl looked up and he saw her eyes were red and puffy. Tears still fell from her cheeks. She shrugged.

"I only just saw my parents die." Her lip jutted out and she began to really cry.

"I'm-look, I'm really sorry. My parents died too." He said unsure how to help her stop crying.

"When did your parents die?" She asked sniffing

"Along time ago, I was really little."

"My parents worked in the Department of Mysteries. They wouldn't join you-know-who so some men in dark cloaks k-k-k-killed them." she placed her hands on her face and shook.

"Who was the woman who brought you here?" Harry asked in curiosity

"She-she is my social worker. All she had to do was bring me to this train and her part was done. Who were the men with you?" she wiped her eyes and sniffed again

"They were wizards from the ministry. The minister sent me here."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"The minister? Why would the minister himself send you here?"

"Because Hogwarts can't be trusted with me." Harry sighed

She looked him over before squinting at his forehead and saying

"You're Harry Potter. The minister took you from Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," He looked away "Dumbledore can't be trusted anymore."

"My name is Adalicia Leclair-Brodeur." When she spoke her name her English accent was replaced by a French accent.

She told Harry about how she and her parents had travelled the world. She was born in England but at just a few months old her parents had taken her to Germany, from there they moved to Sweden, then India, then she started school in America. She lived in Hawaii for a while and even lived in Greece for a while. The last few years her parents had settled down to live in England again and taken a job at the ministry. Harry told her about his parents and his past. He told her things he hadn't expected to tell her. He told her about the Dursley's and about all the summers he was forced to spend there. He talked about Ron and Hermione and all the weasley's.

She listened quietly and smiled at the happy times Harry talked about. It seemed to cheer her up to not have to talk about her parents for once. Before they knew it the sun had set and plastic dinner plates were being passed out.

They ate chicken sandwiches and rolls of bread.

"Do you know what this place is?" Harry asked tearing his sandwich in half.

Ada, as she liked to be called, took a bite of her sandwich before answering.

"St. Mathews. Its sort of a home for orphans."

"Sort of?"

"Um, yeah. It's weird. I can't exactly explain."

"Is it a school or a home?" Harry asked rolling his eyes

"It's…both and neither at the same time. It's not a place where an orphan is treated like a child. They don't raise children."

She didn't seem to want to talk about it much more so Harry let it go taking in what she had said.

They fell into silence after dinner and both laid back their chairs to sleep. The lights turned off and Harry found himself falling into a fitful sleep where his parents floated in and out talking about their death.

"Up! Up!" the train man yelled "The train will arrive in twenty minutes! Wake up!"

Harry sat up to the bright daylight. He was still sitting in the chair. Ada was sitting next to him rubbing her neck. The boy up front was standing and stretching.

Harry looked about him. Ada had a bag with her and the boy had a trunk. Harry didn't have anything. Did they expect him to be in uniform? He hoped not.

The train slowed to a stop in front of a large white brick wall. Harry and Ada and the boy all lined up to exit the train. The train man opened the door and stepped out first. When Harry stepped out he found himself on a very clean sidewalk. There were no tracks on the ground as if the train just driven there without any guidance.

Standing further down the sidewalk was a man in a suit. He had a scruffy looking beard and glasses. He smiled and walked up to the three.

"Welcome to St. Mathews!" he said walking up to them happily and shaking each of their hands.

The three of them only looked at the man and shuffled their feet.

"I am Professor are your names?" He asked ignoring the awkward silence

"Adalicia Leclair-Brodeur." Ada said playing with the strap on her backpack

"Luke Elwyn." The boy said standing straighter

"Harry Potter." Harry said. The man didn't seem surprised in the least. Instead he turned and said

"If you'll follow me I will show you around." he led them to a great wooden gate with all kinds of carvings on it. Over the top of the gate were iron letters saying ST. MATHEWS. He opened the gate and ushered the three inside.

It wasn't like Harry expected. There wasn't one sole building but instead there were a dozen smaller buildings. Students passed them on bikes and some were running. quite a few had strollers.

"St. Mathews isn't just a place to get your education and leave. This is a place to gain experience for your life." They followed him past a small café where students were drinking coffee and reading the paper. The servers were students themselves as well.

"Taking a part time job is one way of earning money here." He said gesturing to the café.

"Earn money? In school?" Harry asked looking around.

"Oh yes. Now if you come this way…" he led them past the café to a row of tiny buildings. Each had a small grassy front yard and a gate around it.

"If you pass our course and we believe we can trust you, you can live in a house like this."

"We make money and live in houses?" Luke asked sceptically

"Of course, the houses are not free. The rent is one hundred pounds a month."

"What about school?" Ada asked

"School is the main way to make money," He turned to look at a larger building reading ENGLISH over the top. Students were running in and out as if their lives depended on it. "For every question you answer correctly in class you earn yourself ten pounds. For every exam and quiz you pass you earn twenty pounds. The more classes you take the more money you make." He smiled proudly at his rhyme.

"You said something about us having to pass a course to live in these houses." Harry said

"Yes. In order to live in a house you must take custody of one of our infants. Feed it, clothe it, pretty much raise it until you leave. There are five levels we have here. First level means you can not be trusted to be a parent and you will have your child taken from you and will be moved into the barracks. Level two means you are barely passable. Level three means you could use some work but are otherwise just fine. Level four is the perfect parenting level. Level five is the hardest level one can achieve. Once you reach level five you are awarded another infant along with the one you have."

"So we have to raise some kids?" Luke asked with annoyance clear in his eyes.

"Oh, no," Audsley laughed "You don't have to. If you don't feel like you would make a good parent you are more than welcome to live in our barracks, which by the way are this way."

Just around the English building was a tall building with large letters saying BARRACKS.

Inside the building were rows and rows of doors. It was completely silent and very clean.

"I'll take you boys to your room first and then show Ms. Adalicia to her room upstairs."

Harry and Luke were taken to a room at the end of the hall. Inside were two beds with grey bedding and flat white pillows.

"If you'd like you can wonder the school grounds and explore."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry awoke the next morning to a loud bell ringing. Luke was already dressed and walking out the door. Harry got up and dressed taking his time before leaving.

Outside was a cloudy day. Harry passed a park he hadn't seen before with lots of little children running around and screaming. There were people his age watching the children play. One little girl ran to a girl who was younger than Harry yelling

"Mummy!" the girl, despite her age, looked happy as she picked up the little girl.

As he walked he was more and more surprised. There was a grocery store and a clothing store and even a day care. He found the little café and caught a waitress's attention.

"Can I help you?" She asked

"Is there a place where I don't have to pay for food here? I would only I don't have any money yet." Harry said.

"Sit right down. You'll have food for free until you make money." She patted a chair near her. Harry smiled and thanked her before sitting down. She brought him eggs and bacon and orange juice.

"Do you know where to go for your first course?" She asked

"No, I didn't get a schedule."

"You'll want to go to home economics first. That's where you'll learn about taking care of yourself here."

Unlike Hogwarts where everything was scheduled Harry was invited to join any of the class rooms. He picked the one with the least students. He was relieved to find Ada there as well.

"Hi." She said happily

"How did you sleep?" Harry asked

"Not well. How did you sleep?"

"The same for me."

A woman was at the front of the class writing on the chalk board.

"I am Ms. Jude," She said looking at the class "I will be your home economics teacher. Before you take any other class this one comes first." She waved her wand. A baby doll appeared on each desk.

"They really take this seriously." Harry whispered to Ada who nodded

"We are going to learn to change a diaper." Ms. Jude said.

At first Harry thought changing a baby's diaper was easy but it wasn't until Ms. Jude made them act like real babies that Harry had a hard time. It cried and kicked and squirmed so much he wondered if they were making it harder than it really was just to test them. Ada finished hers in a split second.

"Congratulations, ten pounds to you!" Ms. Jude said happily.

By the end of that day all of his things had appeared in his room except Hedwig. He now had no way of contacting anyone. He had to hope that Dumbledore would get him out.

In one week Harry learned how to expertly change a diaper, feed a baby, and burp a baby as well as baby proof everyday household items. Ms. Jude handed out papers to every desk.

Harry picked up the paper that saw that it said he had fallen on level three as a parent. He now had permission to get a house and 'adopt' a child.

"Can you believe it?" Ada said hopping along side him "I made a level four. I didn't think I would land any level."

He had never seen her so happy since they met on the train.

"Shall we go together?" Harry asked

"Together? I would love that!" She twirled as she walked. Together they found Professor Audsley's assistant, Ms. Creed, who dealt with all the housing.

The older woman found the last two houses at the end of the street. The first they entered was empty. There was a small kitchen to the side with a living space on the other side. There were three doors at the far wall.

"The first and last door there are bedroom doors, the middle door is the bathroom." She said impatiently tapping her clipboard.

Harry and Ada looked into the first bedroom. It was large with a one big window. There was a small bathroom to the side with a sink and a mirror. The other bathroom was larger with a large bathtub and a toilet and a sink. The next bedroom was small with light blue walls. There was a small window at the end.

"This is perfect." Harry said looking around. He could imagine himself living in this small home happily.

"And I'll take the other one and we'll be neighbours!" Ada said happily

"Alright, if this is what you want then you are to spend one more night in the barracks and your homes will be filled with furniture."

Harry lay on his bed thinking about his last night in the barracks. Luke was quiet and he didn't like to talk much. All Harry got from him was that he had gotten into some kind of trouble and had been sent there.

He went to his classes and tried to answer as many questions as he could but found that every one else was competing to answer. He would have to become like Hermione if he wanted to survive here.

Before going to his house for the first time he stopped at the library and stockpiled books into his bag. He promised himself he would study until three in the morning if he had to.

As he looked at his new home he felt a surge of excitement. He pulled the key out and opened the door. The inside was now furnished. There a table in the kitchen and a couch and fireplace in the living area. In the bedroom there was a large bed. In the other room there was a crib and a toy box and a diaper changing station.

In the living room there was a piece of paper lying on the coffee table that Harry hadn't seen before. He picked it up and sat down to read it.

Harry Potter,

You now have to schools permission to care for a child while living here at St. Mathews. Please report to the day care centre tomorrow morning for further information.

Professor Audsley.


End file.
